Indefinite Determiners

In this lesson, we’ll have a look at determinantes indefinidosindefinite determinersIndefinite determiners are words that express an undefined quality about the noun they’re referencing, similar to “other people”, “another beer”, or “certain things” in English. In Portuguese, indefinite determiners always agree in gender and number with the noun.

Other & Another

The singular forms of “other” or “another” are outroothermasc. and outraotherfem.Dá-me outro destes bolos, por favor.Give me another one of these cakes, please.Temos de pôr aqui outra mesa.We have to place another table here.
The plural forms are outrosothermasc. and outrasotherfem.Aqueles outros senhores são os nossos convidados.Those other gentlemen are our guests.Estas estão molhadas, dá-me as outras.These are wet, give me the others.

Certain

The singular forms of “certain” are certocertainmasc. and certacertainfem.
These words are also sometimes used in the same contexts as we would use the word “one” in English, in the sense of a date, object, or person that is specific, but not clearly defined.Certo dia, Pedro Coelho partiu em viagem.One day, Peter Rabbit went on a journey.Certa manhã, recebi uma encomenda.One morning, I received a parcel.
The plural forms of “certain” are certoscertainmasc. and certascertainfem.. Here, they can also be used in the sense of “some”, as in an undefined, but particular, amount of the noun in reference.O paciente tem certos sintomas que parecem ser de gripe.The patient shows certain symptoms which seem to suggest a flu.Certas pessoas não se sabem comportar!Some people don’t know how to behave!